


saltwater room

by lanvaldear



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Dream Shenanigans, F/M, I'm not even sure what this is, it's really not that good tbh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-07
Updated: 2014-06-07
Packaged: 2018-02-03 17:29:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1752869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lanvaldear/pseuds/lanvaldear
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Are you afraid I'll disappear if you touch me?” she asks, and Riku looks away. “It's okay. This is your dream, you know?”</p>
<p>“My dream, huh.” He lets out a sigh, and he runs a hand through his hair. “I've had enough of dreaming.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	saltwater room

**Author's Note:**

> Time together is just never quite enough. When you and I are alone, I've never felt so at home.

     In a moment of solitude, she comes to him, quiet and soft and bright. She's so quiet she's almost like a ghost, and when he lifts his eyes and sees her, he thinks maybe he has seen a ghost. For a while, neither of them say anything; she sits next to him, and he hesitates before raising his hand. It hovers over hers, and she lets out a little laugh. He thinks it sounds like music.

     “What?” he asks, and his voice is a little gruff. He swallows a million questions but the lump in his throat remains.

     “Are you afraid I'll disappear if you touch me?” she asks, and Riku looks away. “It's okay. This is your dream, you know?”

     “My dream, huh.” He lets out a sigh, and he runs a hand through his hair. “I've had enough of dreaming.” There's a note of weariness in his voice, and Naminé lets it go unaddressed because, if he wants to tell her, he will later.

     Deep down, inside her not-heart, she has a feeling he will. In time, he will, anyway.

     “Well,” she says, and she folds her hands in her lap. Naminé looks at him, and she feels a little breathless when his eyes meet hers. “You must have wanted me here. Otherwise, you wouldn't have called me.”

     “I called you?” he asks softly, and Naminé thinks she sees some warmth in those beautiful eyes. The corners of his lips twitch, and even though it's a dream and she doesn't belong here, shouldn't belong here, shouldn't feel anything because she's only a Nobody who doesn't even exist outside of Kairi, Naminé feels warm. Riku grins now, and Naminé feels warmth spread across her cheeks. “I guess I must've, 'cause you were always a bad liar. Not that you'd lie to me anyway, right?”

     “No.” The word is a whisper. “You're the only one,” she says, and she looks at him with honest blue eyes. It catches Riku off guard, and he looks at her, a little startled. Naminé's hands curl around the skirt of her dress. She lowers her head, and Riku thinks she's trying to hold back tears.

     For a girl who insists she has no emotions, they're threatening to spill over now. He's not sure how to comfort her; he's never had to, because Kairi always huffs at him and tells him not to treat her like a damsel. And Sora's always been so happy, so bright, that Riku's seen him sad only a handful of times. And Naminé is so different from them: She's not good at hiding things, as much as she'd like to think. It's a bad expression for her, but she's always worn her heart on her sleeve. She's not good at hiding things, Riku knows, and when it comes to her, neither is he.

     So he puts his hand over hers and when she looks at him, her eyes are wet and a little red. With a laugh, Naminé wipes her eyes with her free hand. He finds it a little odd that her face, where she touched, is smeared with black.

     “...You're still drawing? How does that work?”

     “Oh...” She's caught off guard, and Riku gives her a little smile. “Um...well, I'm not really sure, either, but...I can draw there, inside Kairi. It's kind of like...my own little room.” She smiles, but it's strained, fragile, and Riku thinks it could break at any time. “It's a little lonely, but I see some of what she sees, when she wants me to.” She pauses and Riku feels her hand move under his. Their fingers intertwine, and he can't help the flush that spreads over his cheeks. It's pleasant, this warmth, and Riku finds he doesn't want it to end.

     “What do you draw?” He's doing his best to keep her distracted, because when she cries, his chest feels tight.

     Naminé hesitates, and under the charcoal smears, her cheeks turn a soft pink. “Um...you. Mostly.” She kicks her feet a little bit, embarrassed. “Kairi and Sora, too. And Axel—I mean, Lea.” She lets out a little laugh. “It's strange, calling him Lea, but...I'm glad he's whole again. I think he's happiest when he's with Roxas, so...in my drawings, they're always together.” She feels a lump in her throat, and she doesn't put a name to whatever she's feeling. “I...hope he can see Roxas again. Even if it's just like how this is. I mean...they love each other, after all.”

     Riku doesn't meet her eyes, and she doesn't meet his because the implications of her words are enormous and more than a little scary.. But he wishes he had looked at her a little bit more, because she slides her hand away from his and stands.

     “Naminé?” he murmurs, his chest tightening again.

     “I'm sorry.” She'd like to touch his cheeks, his arms, to embrace him. “But I think you're waking up. See? You don't dream much, do you?” She holds out her hands, and they're fuzzy at the edges. Riku stands and towers over her—she's still so tiny, even compared to Kairi. He wishes he'd dream just a little longer, because maybe this ache would go away. Or maybe it would be so much worse when he had to say goodbye. “But...I think if you'd like to see me again, all you need to do is call me.”

     “I'm not sure how to do that. I...have no idea how I did it in the first place.” A note of distress creeps in his voice. He doesn't like not knowing—not knowing how to do this, not knowing how to comfort her...

     Not knowing when he'll see her again.

     “It's okay.” Naminé leans up on her tiptoes, and she surprises them both with her boldness when she lightly touches her lips to his cheek. “Your heart will know.” She gives him a small smile and, just as she turns, Riku takes her hand and pulls her close.

     Today, it seems, they're surprising each other again and again. Riku pulls away after a few moments, his cheeks flushed, a sadness in his eyes. The empty place in Naminé's chest feels funny, fluttery and light. Her lips are warm where his were only a moment ago, and she does her best to fight the urge to kiss him again. He tastes soft and sweet, and she wonders what makes him taste like that. Naminé almost asks him to kiss her again, because for a moment, she felt real.

     But then she's gone. Riku opens his eyes and stares up at his ceiling, and thinks about the girl who was never even supposed to exist.


End file.
